LESSONS  FROM  AN  ANCIENT  FAST. 


A    DISCOURSE 


DELIVERED    IN    THE 


CITADEL  SQUARE  CHURCH 


CHARLESTON,  S.  C, 


(On  the  occasion  of  the  (hen  era  I  tfsst 


Thursday,  June  13,  1861, 


REV.    J.     R.      K  KM)  RICK 


CHARLESTON: 

STRAM-rOWBD     PRESSES     OP     EVANS    4    COGSWELL. 
No.  3  Broad   and  103  East  Bay  Streets. 

1861 


LESSONS  FROM  AN  ANCIENT  FAST. 


A    DISCOURSE 


DKI.IVKUKIl     IN     THE 


CITADEL  SQUARE  CHURCH, 

CHARLESTON,  S.  C, 

<©n  the  orrasion  o|j  the  (!)  en  oral  $ast, 
Thursday,  June  13,  1861, 

BV 

R  EV.    .1.    R.     K  EE  DEICK. 


CHARLESTON: 

BTKAV-FOWBR     PRESSES     OF     EVANS    Jl    C  0  C  S  \V  E  I.  L  . 

N<>.  .".  Broad  and  103  East  Day  Streets. 

1801. 


Charleston,  Jutu   II.  i SCI. 
Rev.  J.   R.  Kkndhick. 

Dear  Sir — At  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  of  the  Citadel  Square  Church, 
held  on  Thursday  last,  the  13th  instant,  the  undersigned  were  appointed  a  Com- 
mittee to  solicit  of  you  a  copy  of  your  Sermon,  delivered  on  the  occasion  of  the  day 
set  apart  by  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  as  a  day  of 
Fasting,  Humiliation  and  Prayer,  which  the  undersigned  request  you  to  furnish 
at  your  earliest  convenience,  with  a  view  of  having  the  same  published  for  gon- 
eral  distribution. 
•  Very   respectfully. 

JAMES  L.  GANTT, 
S.  WYATT, 
GEO.  W.  OLNEY, 

Committet . 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2010  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/lessonsfromancieOOkend 


DISCOURSE. 


"Then  I  proclaimed  a  fast  there  at  the  river  of  Abava,  that  we  might  afflict  our- 
selves hefore  our  God,  to  seek  of  Him  a  right  way  for  us,  and  for  our  little  ones,  and 
for  all  our  substance.  For  I  was  ashamed  to  require  of  the  king  a  band  of  soldiers 
and  horsemen  to  help  us  against  the  enemy  in  the  way,  because  we  had  spoken 
unto  the  king,  saying,  The  hand  of  our  God  is  upon  all  them  for  good  that  seek  Him; 
but  His  power  and  His  wrath  is  against  all  them  that  forsake  Him.  So  we  fasted 
and  besought  our  God  for  this,  and  He  was  entreated  of  us." — Ezra  viii,  21— .1. 

The  successive  ages,  in  their  histories,  are  much  like 
concentric  circles,  ever  increasing  in  number,  ever  ex- 
panding, but  ever  preserving  a  fixed  resemblance  to  each 
other.  The  last  is  like  the  first,  only  larger,  bolder  and 
more  imposing;  the  first  is  like  the  last,  the  model  and 
prophecy  of  all  that  come  after.  The  movements  and  des- 
tinies of  insignificant  peoples  and  societies  in  the  world's 
infancy,  proceeded  upon  principles  and  were  def  eloped  in 
accordance  with  laws  which  govern  the  grander  move- 
ments and  destinies  of  the  mighty  nations  existing  at  this 
hour.  The  whole  future  oak  is  said  to  be  contained  in  the 
acorn,  and  the  first  little  commonwealth  was  not  merely 
the  germ  of  all  future  States  and  Empires,  but  their  actual 
type  and  miniature  representative.  The  statesman  is,  and 
must  be,  a  student  of  history;  for  there  he  learns  in  ad- 
vance, by  tracing  in  their  practical  operations  and  visible 
results,  what  are  the  hidden  laws  which  control  human 
affairs,  and  to  which  he  should  conform  his  own  plans  and 
measures.  History  has  been  described  as  philosophy  teach- 
ing by  examples;  it  is  more  exactly,  I  think,  examples 
2 


6 

teaching  as,  if  we  have  the  discerning  mind,  the  true 
philosophy.  Especially  should  the  statesman,  as  well  as 
the  humblest  citizen,  be  a  diligent  student  of  Biblical 
history,  even  though  it  treal  of  a  people  as  comparatively 
small  and  unimportant  as  the  ancient  Jews;  for  in  their 
annals  what  is  mosl  real,  vital  ami  permanent  in  political 
organizations,  appears  in  sharp  contrasl  with  what  is  acci- 
dental, factitious  ami  fleeting.  The  eternal  principles  that 
must  underlie  and  support  all  vigorous,  enduring  national 
life,  are  there  developed,  not  simply  in  actual  results,  but 
in  results  sanctioned  by  divine  approval  and  authenticated 
by  divine  inspiration. 

Thus  the  fast  of  Ezra  on  the  hanks  of  the  Ahava.  with 
his  little  colony  of  Jewish  captives,  observed  four  centuries 
and  a  half  before  Christ's  coming,  rises  into  the  dignity  of 
an  august  precedent,  to  be  studied  and  imitated  by  our 
nation,  figuring  in  the  Latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, with  its  nine  or  ten  millions  of  inhabitants,  and 
sustaining  vast  and  complicated  relations  to  the  great 
centres  of  civilization.  The  verses  describing  this  fast 
indicate,  if  L  mistake  not,  what  should  he  the  end,  the  prin- 
ciples "nil  the  spiritual  exercises  of  this  day's  solemnity — a 
solemnity  the  most  momentous,  by  far,  to  which  the  people 
comprising  these  Confederate  States  were  ever  summoned. 

1.  Tin'  end  or  <ihii  of  Ezra's  fast  is  stated  in  words  which 
happily  and  forcibly  express  the  purposes  contemplated  by 
the  present  religious  service — "to  seek  of  God  a  right  way  for 
us,  and  for  our  little  ours,  and  for  all  our  substance."  And  this 
becomes  the  more  apparent  and  interesting  when  we  re<  all 

the  somewhat  striking  resemblance  between  Ezra'-s  situa- 
tion ami  our  own.  He  was,  you  are  aware,  one  of  those 
predestined  agents,  employed  in  restoring  the  captives  to 
Jerusalem,  and  in  rebuilding  there  the  dismantled  and 
prostrate  Jewish  commonwealth.  He  had  heen  preceded 
in  this  service  by  several  distinguished  Laborers,  in  par- 
ticular by  Prince  Kerubbabel  and  the  High  Priest  Joshua, 
who  had  conducted  fifty  thousand  colonists  to  their  ances- 
tral  seats,  and  had  already  completed  the  second  temple. 


Much  had  been  clone;  but  much  remained  to  do.  The 
settlers  at  Jerusalem  were  environed  with  enemies  and 
exposed  to  the  most  serious  perils  from  without,  while 
their  internal  affairs  were  in  a  most  disordered  and  unsatis- 
factory condition.  Ezra,  a  priest  and  man  of  learning,  was 
now  on  the  eve  of  leading  to  them  an  auxiliary  force  of 
colonists,  with  the  hope  of  strengthening  their  hands,  re- 
forming abuses  and  re-establishing  their  ancient  constitu- 
tion and  laws  on  a  firm  basis.  It  was  a  critical  moment  in 
Jewish  history,  and  it  is  not  extravagant  to  say  that  all  the 
future  in  the  destiny  of  that  people  might  depend  on  the 
results  of  this  expedition. 

Much  like  this  is  our  position  to-day.  We  are  engaged 
in  aii  enterprise  no  less  solemn  and  momentous  than  the 
settlement  of  a  reformed  and  purified  Government — the 
confirmation  of  our  ancient  rights  and  franchises  under 
new  guards  and  guarantees — the  assertion  of  our  name 
and  place  in  the  great  family  of  nations,  "the  Federation 
of  the  world."  Much  has  already  been  done.  As  in  the 
case  of  Ezra,  the  preliminary  steps  have  all  been  taken; 
the  new  Government  has  been  organized  under  a  Constitu- 
tion regarded  as  a  great  improvement  on  the  old  and 
broken  one;  and  we  are  now  displaying  all  the  signs  and 
discharging  all  the  functions  of  a  vigorous  national  life. 
But  much  remains  to  do;  in  one  view,  everything.  AVe 
have  to  hold  and  make  good  our  high  position  against  a 
hostile  and  determined  power,  denying  our  eveiw  claim, 
and  contesting  our  every  step.  The  decisive  hour,  the 
hour  of  destiny,  seems  close  at  hand. 

It  was  at  such  a  moment  that  Ezra  and  his  associates, 
already  girded  for  the  inarch,  proclaimed  their  fast,  afflict- 
ed their  souls,  and  mingled  their  penitential  tears  with  the 
waters  of  the  Ahava.  It  is  at  such  a  moment  that  we, 
pausing  a  little  before  the  conclusive  onset,  are  summoned 
to  abase  ourselves  before  God  in  all  the  decent  and  devout 
services  of  this  solemn  occasion. 

As  already  stated,  words  could  scarcely  be  framed  to 
convey   more    exactly    what   should    be   the   precise   pur- 


8 

pose  of  this  service,  than  do  those  of  Ezra — "to  seek 
of  God  a  right  way  for  as,  and  for  our  little  ones,  and 
for  all  our  substance."  All  these  interests  are  involved 
in  the  crisis  which  faces  us,  and  the  enterprise  in  which 
we  arc  engaged.  Ourselves,  our  little  ones,  and  all  our  sub- 
stana — and  what  i>  there  dear  and  valuable  to  the  heart, 
which,  cither  expressly  <>r  by  necessary  implication,  this 
pregnant  catalogue  does  not  embrace? — arc  staked  upon 
the  issues  of  this  tremendous  contest.  As  the  controversy 
lias  turned  and  now  shapes  itself,  it  seems  not  improbable 
that  it  is  destined  to  become  a  controversy  over  the  rights 
of  property,  the  altars  of  religion,  the  very  safety  and 
sanctity  of  home. 

I  would  have  you  note  in  particular,  my  brethren,  what 
appears  to  be  the  central  word  in  Ezra's  description  of  the 
purpose  of  his  fast.  His  object  was  to  seek  a  "right  way" 
upou  this  occasion. 

A  "right"  way — that  is,  most  obviously,  and  according 
to  the  common  signification  and  use  of  this  word,  a  right- 
eous way.  the  way  of  right,  truth  and  justice.  We  ought 
to  desire,  and  I  trust  do  desire,  from  the  President  of  the 
Confederacy  down  to  the  humblest  citizen,  to  discover  and 
tread  the  high  and  open  path  of  honor  and  rectitude. 
We  should  wish  to  avoid  false  and  crooked  ways,  dark  and 
Machiavellian  policies,  the  diplomacy  that  cheats  and  lies, 
and  the  statecraft  that  spurns  integrity,  and  crawls  to  its 
ends  through  the  subtleties  of  fraud  and  the  foulness  of 
dishonor.  I  have  ever  shrunk  from  the  sentiment:  "Our 
country,  always  right;  but,  right  or  wrong,  always  our 
country."  I  will  not  deny,  indeed,  that  it  may  be  a  man's 
duty  to  cling  to  his  country  when  she  is  wrong;  but  this 
maxim,  as  it  has  commonly  been  paraded  and  employed, 
tends  to  confuse  and  obliterate  moral  distinctions  as  related 
to  the  acts  of  government,  to  educate  the  popular  mind  to 
indifference  respecting  political  measures,  to  deify  the  Hag 
as  the  symbol  of  national  greatness,  and  to  blind  the  eye  to 
all  the  stains  that  may  deface  and  degrade  it.  Let  us  be 
deeply  solicitous  that  our  country,  in  one  view  just  born 


9 

just  entering  upon  its  career  of  destiny,  may  start  in  the 
right  way  and  always  keep  it.  It  is  not  success  only  that 
we  ought  to  desire  in  the  present  contest,  but  success  upon 
just  principles,  in  the  employment  of  honorable  expedi- 
ents, and  in  the  adoption  of  a  policy  on  which  the  scru- 
tiny of  the  Searcher  of  hearts  can  honestly  be  invoked. 
It  is  very  encouraging,  on  referring  to  the  Presidential 
proclamation  which  has  invited  us  to  this  service,  to  read 
there  words  almost  identical  witli  those  which  the  Jewish 
leader  used  in  connection  with  his  act  of  humiliation.  The 
Chief  Magistrate  requests  us  to  "implore  the  Lord  of 
Hosts  to  guide  and  direct  our  policy  in  the  paths  of  right, 
duty,  justice,  and  mercy."  ISTo  request,  surely,  should  be 
more  consonant  with  the  views  and  feelings  of  a  Christian 
people.  Ob,  that  lie  who  loves  righteousness  and  hates 
iniquity,  may  enable  our  President,  our  Cabinet,  our  Con- 
gress, and  all  our  people,  to  discern  and  choose  truth  and 
justice  amidst  all  our  temptations  and  provocations  to  err, 
and  all  the  fierce  passions  and  blinding  prejudices  which 
the  hour  is  apt  to  excite  !  Oh,  that  He  may  direct  us  in 
the  way  illuminated  with  the  smile  of  His  own  approval ! 

A  "right  way" — evidently,  in  this  connexion,  a  safe  and 
successful  way.  This  was  clearly  the  wish  uppermost  in  the 
mind  of  Ezra,  in  the  use  of  this  word.  He  was  about 
entering  upon  a  long  and  weary  march  across  the  sands  of 
(lie  desert,  where  dangers  of  every  sort  awaited  him,  and 
where  bands  of  freebooting  desperadoes  might  suddenly 
sweep  down  upon  him,  dooming  his  expedition  to  a  disas- 
trous termination  and  blighting  the  hopes  or  shading  the 
prospects  of  the  feeble  colony  at  Jerusalem.  He  naturally 
■wished  to  be  defended  from  enemies,  to  escape  calamities, 
and  without  any  misadventure  to  finish  his  journey  in 
complete  success.  Beyond  question  this  is  the  great,  com- 
mon desire,  the  passionate  longing,  filling  the  hearts  of  the 
millions  of  the  Confederacy  to-day.  They  wish  to  touch 
speedily  the  goal  which  they  have  in  view — to  avoid  the 
further  effusion  of  blood  and  obtain  a  prompt  peace — to  be 
successful   in   battle,    if   this    stern    arbitrament   must  be 


10 

accepted — to  obtain  the  recognition  of  their  independent 
nationality — to  reach  a  condition  in  which  they  -hall  be 
permitted,  without  Le1  or  hindrance,  to  rear,  strengthen 
and  adorn  the  fabric  of  their  government  on  the  founda- 
tion which  has  been  Laid — a  condition  in  winch  they  shall 
enjoy,  fairly  and  fully,  the  natural  advantages  pf  their  soil, 
climate  and  system  of  labor,  pul  in  practice,  as  far  as  may 
be,  their  traditional  and  favorite  notions  respecting  free- 
dom of  trade,  develop  their  own  peculiar  form  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  work  out  their  own  destiny.  They  wish  to 
establish  on  these  western  shores  another  republic  which, 
though  perhaps  not  distinctly  anticipated  by  the  patriot 
sires  of  the  Revolution,  shall  still  realize  their  hopes  and 
play  its  grand  part  in  multiplying  the  triumphs  of  com- 
merce, diffusing  the  blessings  of  Christianity  and  promot- 
ing tin'  great  interests  of  civilization.  Undoubtedly,  the 
primary  object  of  this  solemnity  is  to  implore  heaven  to  be 
propitious  to  our  cause,  to  pronounce  its  benediction  on  our 
gigantic  enterprize,  to  enlighten  our  rulers  with  a  wisdom 
that  shall  enable  them  to  baffle  the  counsels  of  the  enemy, 
and  inspire  our  armies  with  a  courage  that  shall  make  their 
progress  a  march  to  victory. 

2.  Such  is  the  great  aim  of  this  solemnity  as  described 
in  the  incident  which  is  guiding  our  reflections.  But  OUT 
text  also  happily  suggests  to  our  consideration  some  of 
those  'principles  which  underlie  our  present  service,  and 
which  we  must  distinctly  apprehend  in  order  that  it  may 
be  fruitful  in  good  consequences. 

Ezra  recognized,  for  example,  his  dependence  on  God  as  to 
the  results  of  his  expedition.  This  is  a  statement  too 
obviously  just  to  require  argument'  or  illustration  on  its 
behalf,  lie  was  a  firm  believer  in  Divine  Providence,  and 
calmly  committed  his  enterprize  to  that  custody  and  direc- 
tion. Such  must  we  be;  so  must  we  do.  Our  fast  pro- 
ceeds upon  the  supposition  that  God's  hand  is  in  human 
affairs,  and  without  this  conviction  on  our  part,  it  will 
prove  a  grave  and  insulting  mockery  which  He  may  resent 
with  the  tokens  of  His  displeasure.     If  this  day,  to  any 


11 

general  extent,  is  regarded  as  a  merely  politic  appointment, 
intended  to  impress  men  simply,  and  to  stimulate  confi- 
dence by  seeming  to  invest  our  enterprize  with  the  sanc- 
tions of  religion  and  give  it  the  prestige  of  divine  approval, 
I  need  scarcely  tell  you,  my  brethren,  that  our  fast  is  in 
danger  of  turning  to  a  curse.  I  dwell  on  this  point  for  a 
moment  because,  though  a  rudimental  one  in  religion,  and 
too  obvious,  in  this  view,  to  require  elaboration,  it  is  still  a 
perpetual  stumbling-stone  to  a  certain  class  of  cultivated 
thinkers,  who  cannot  conceal  the  sceptical  disdain  or  indif- 
ference with  which  they  regard  it.  That  most  brilliant 
and  popular  of  solid  writers,  that  greatest  master  perhaps 
of  the  English  tongue,  Macaulay,  was  a  representative  of 
this  class,  and  he  always  alluded  to  this  vital  doctrine  of 
Christian  faith  in  a  cold  and  sneering  tone.  In  speaking 
of  the  voyage  of  William  to  the  British  shores,  he  uses  the 
following  language:  "The  weather  had  indeed  served  the 
Protestant  cause  so  well  that  some  men  of  more  piety  than 
judgment  fully  believed  the  ordinary  laws  of  nature  to 
have  been  suspended  for  the  preservation  of  the  liberty 
and  religion  of  England.  Exactly  a  hundred  years  before, 
they  said,  the  Armada,  invincible  by  man,  had  been  scat- 
tered by  the  wrath  of  God.  Civil  freedom  and  divine 
truth  were  again  in  jeopardy;  and  again  the  obedient  ele- 
ments had  fought  for  the  good  cause.  The  wind  had 
blown  strong  from  the  east  while  the  Prince  wished  to 
sail  down  the  channel,  had  turned  to  the  south  when  he 
wished  to  enter  Torbay,  had  sunk  to  a  calm  during  the 
disembarkation,  and,  as  soon  as  the  disembarkation  was 
completed,  had  risen  to  a  storm  and  had  met  the  pursuers 
in  the  face."  It  is  impossible  to  mistake  the  purport  of 
this  passage,  especially  when  taken  in  connection  with 
many  of  a  similar  character  in  this  great  author's  works. 
While  caricaturing  the  doctrine  of  Providence  as  held  by 
intelligent  believers,  its  effect  is  to  bring  that  precious 
article  of  our  faith  into  suspicion  and  discredit,  to  ridicule 
the  idea  that  "the  obedient  elements  may  fight  for  the 
good  cause,"  and  that  "the  wrath  of  God"  may  justly  be 


12 

relied  on  to  scatter  fleets  "invincible  by  man."  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  subtle  poison  of  this  pernicious  scepticism 
does  not  circulate  widely  among  our  people.  The  very 
foundation  principle  on  which  this  solemnity  rests  is  the 
control  of  Jehovah  over  human  affairs,  and  the  assurance 
that  the  race  is  not  always  to  the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to 
the  Btrong. 

It  is  also  instructive  to  notice  that  Ezra  in  his  last  and 
contemplated  expedition,  had  an  eye  to  Qu  glory  of  God. 
It  appears,  from  the  narrative  before  us,  that  in  certain 
interviews  with  Bang  Artaxerxes  in  which  they  had  con- 
versed concerning  the  affairs  of  his  people,  and  of  his 
hopes  and  reliances,  the  pious  Jew  had  expressed  the  most 
implicit  confidence  in  the  God  of  Israel  ;  and  now,  as  he 
was  about  to  set  forth  upon  his  perilous  journey,  he  was 
ashamed  to  ask  the  monarch  for  an  escort  of  "soldiers 
and  horsemen"  lest  it  might  be  construed  as  indicating 
distrust  of  Jehovah.  He  preferred  to  brave  the  terrors  of 
the  desert  with  his  feeble  company,  rather  than  compro- 
mise in  the  least  the  honor  of  his  God,  by  invoking  the 
protection  of  heathen  spears.  It  is  plain  that  Ezra's  pro- 
clamation of  a  fast  originated,  in  no  small  degree,  from  his 
sensitive  and  jealous  regard  for  the  divine  honor,  so  far  as 
it  might  be  affected  by  his  own  conduct,  I  trust  that  this 
sentiment,  so  well  calculated  to  exalt  the  Jewish  leader  in 
our  esteem,  mingles  largely  in  the  emotions  and  exercises 
of  this  solemnity.  I  rejoice,  in  particular,  in  the  convic- 
tion that  the  honor  of  God  as  related  to  the  condition  of 
four  millions  of  the  descendants  of  Ham,  whose  lot  has 
been  east  in  this  Southern  land,  has  had  much  to  do  in 
bracing  many  a  heart  to  meet  this  crisis.  Multitudes  of 
devout  souls  have  longed  for  opportunities  and  facilities  in 
laboring  for  the  spiritual  improvement  of  this  class,  which 
have  hitherto  been  denied  or  abridged  by  reason  of  the 
impertinent  and  malicious  intermeddlings  of  those  who  are 
strangers  to  their  real  character  and  condition.  Multitudes 
of  such  souls  are  looking  forward  with  hope  to  the  recog- 
nized independence  of  the  new  Confederacy,  as  an  event 


13 

which  will  enable  them  to  devote  increased  attention  to  the 
religions  instruction  of  our  servants,  unimpeded  by  those 
natural  suspicions  and  fears  which  now,  in  many  places, 
greatly  embarrass  this  service.  Not  with  the  ambitious 
wishes  and  aims  of  the  proud  builders  of  Babel,  not  to  rear 
a  political  structure  whose  "top  may  reach  unto  heaven," 
and  to  "make  a  name  "  whose  renown  shall  till  the  ages, 
should  the  independence  of  the  South  be  sought;  but 
rather  with  the  lofty  purpose  and  desire  of  promoting 
God's  glory,  while  securing  our  own  rights  and  happiness. 
In  connection  with  these  views  and  principles  was 
another  conviction  which  prompted  and  controlled  the  last 
of  Ezra;  this  was  the  cheering  assurance  that  "  the  hand  of 
Qod  was  upon  him  for  good."  He  had  expressed  this  con- 
viction to  the  Persian  monarch  in  the  following  siu>-<>-estive 
formula:  "The  hand  of  our  God  is  upon  all  them  for 
good  that  seek  Him;  but  His  power  and  His  wrath  is 
against  all  them  that  forsake  Him."  He  ventured  to  believe 
that  he  and  his  people  were  among  those  who  sought  and 
served  the  Lord,  and  who  might  thus  appeal  to  Him  for 
succor  and  protection  in  the  hour  of  need.  This  encour- 
aged him  to  proclaim  his  fast  and  engage  in  special  ser- 
vices for  obtaining  the  divine  guidance.  It  is  manifest,  on 
the  slightest  reflection,  that  the  persuasion  that  the  hand  of 
God  is  upon  us  for  good,  that,  upon  the  whole,  He  is  dis- 
posed to  regard  us  with  favor,  is  essential  to  cheer  our 
religious  solemnities  with  the  reasonable  prospect  of  happy 
consequences.  This  persuasion,  humbly  and  unpresump- 
tuously  cherished  I  hope,  animates  the  people  of  the  Con- 
federate States  to-day.  With  nothing,  certainly,  in  their 
history  to  justify  pride  and  self-complacency,  certainly 
with  very  much  to  cause  them  shame  and  confusion  of 
face,  they  still  venture  to  think  that,  judged  by  fair  stan- 
dards, they  are  at  least  as  much  entitled  to  regard  them- 
selves as  having  ''sought  the  Lord,"  and  been  true  to 
Him,  as  their  former  political  associates.  The}'  venture  to 
believe,  in  particular,  that,  in  the  present,  controversy  which 
is  convulsing  the  land  and  hurling  the  two  sections  against 


14 

each  other  in  the  shock  of  battle,  they  have  right  on  their 
side,  and  may  therefore  trusi  thai  the  hand  of  God  will  be 
upon  them  for  good.  This  conviction  is  probably  aa  deep, 
as  clear,  as  prevalent,  as  any  which  ever  moved  and  united 
a  people  i"  accepl  the  hazards  of  a  revolution,  I  suppose 
it  musl  be  confessed,  that  a  contrary  persuasion  is  Dearly  aa 
stnni--  on  the  other  side.  In  such  a  strange  case,  where 
two  Christian  peoples  are  solemnly  appealing  to  heaven  to 
witness  the  rectitude  of  their  motives  and  the  justice  of 
their  cause,  God  mnst  and  will  judge  betwixt  them. 

For  my  own  part,  in  pronouncing  the  presenl  war  waged 
against  the  South  most  iniquitous  and  erne],  and  in  vindi- 
cating the  defiant  attitude  of  the  Confederate  Stale.-.  I  do 
not  go  far  back  for  arguments  and  reasons.  J  have  no 
occasion  to  review  the  long  conflict  which  lias  raged  be- 
tween the  North  and  South  while  united  under  a  common 
Government,  to  rehearse  the  wrongs  and  aggressions  of  the 
former,  which  at  length  culminated  in  the  overwhelming 
predominance  of  a  party  animated  by  a  declared  hostility 
to  southern  institutions.  I  have  no  occasion  to  discuss  the 
constitutional  right  of  secession.  The  great,  patent,  mon- 
strous fact  is  enough  for  me,  that  the  attempt  to  hold 
sovereign  States  together  against  their  will,  and  Coerce 
them  into  union  by  a  war  of  invasion,  is  utterly  opposed 
to  the  genius  of  our  institutions  ami  to  all  the  traditions 
and  maxims  in  which  we  have  been  educated  touching  a 
people's  right  to  self-government.  Common  sense  should 
dictate  that  when  the  interests  of  States,  united  under  a 
voluntary  compact,  have  become  irreconcilably  variant  and 
clashing — when  an  unanticipated  territorial  expansion  has 
been  attained,  so  vast  as  almost,  of  itself,  to  forbid  cohe- 
rence and  necessitate  disintegration — when  strifes  and  bick- 
erings through  long  years  have  engendered  mutual  fear 
and  hate — when  the  spirit  of  confidence  and  fraternity  has 
wholly  departed — especially  when  myriads  on  the  one  side 
charge  the  other  with  a  sin  which  is  an  intolerable  burden 
to  their  consciences — under  such  circumstances,  I  say,  com- 
mon sense  should  dictate  that  the  aggrieved  and  dissatis- 


15 

fied  States  should  be  allowed  to  depart  in  peace.  Had  this 
been  done  at  the  right  moment,  I  cannot  doubt  that  many 
of  the  benefits  of  union  would  still  have  been  mutually 
en/joved,  while  its  causes  of  irritation  and  annoyance  would 
have  been  avoided.  But  under  the  inscrutable  permissions 
of  Providence  it  has  been  ordered  otherwise;  the  unnatu- 
ral, fratricidal,  parricidal  strife  has  begun,  and  the  God  of 
battles  is  appealed  to  in  its  decision.  With  full  confidence 
in  the  justice  of  her  cause,  in  the  cheerful  hope  that  the 
hand  of  God  is  on  her  for  good,  the  Confederacy  holds  this 
fast  and  sends  her  sons  to  the  red  fields  o['  war. 

Perhaps  I  do  not  speak  strongly  enough  to  satisfy  your 
tastes  and  wishes.  Perhaps  you  would  have  me  recite,  in 
words  hot  with  burning  indignation,  the  alleged  outrages 
and  barbarities  of  the  invader,  and  kindle  your  souls  to  a 
fury  against  him.  Perhaps  you  long  to  hear  sentences  that 
would  stir  your  spirits  like  the  blast  of  a  trumpet,  until, 
transported  with  martial  ardor,  you  should  pant  for  the 
strife  and  thirst  for  blood,  "Were  I  competent  to  perform 
this  service — and  it  is  far  from  a  difficult  one — there  are 
several  considerations  that  would  restrain  me.  In  the  first 
place, it  would  be  a  superfluous  task:  you  do  not  need  this 
sort  of  address  to  stimulate  your  patriotic  devotion  and 
excite  you  to  defend  and  maintain  your  rights.  In  the 
second  place.  I  serioftsly  question  whether  it  would  be  ap- 
propriate to  the  pulpit,  especially  on  an  occasion  which 
contemplates  self-abasement,  penitence  and  humiliation. 
In  the  third  place,  all  other  considerations  aside,  I  candidly 
avow  that  I  do  not  think  this  service  would  be  comely  and 
modest  as  performed  by  me.  I  cannot  forget — an  intelligent 
and  generous  people  would  not  respect  me  if  I  could  for- 
get— the  hills  that  stand  round  about  the  scene  of  my  birth 
and  still  cast  their  long  shadows  over  the  graves  of  my 
ancestors  and  kindred.  I  cannot  forget  those  who,  bone  of 
my  bone  and  flesh  of  my  flesh,  are  arrayed  on  the  other 
side  of  this  most  strange  and  appalling  controversy.  In 
one  thus  reared  and  circumstanced,  you  will  be  content,  I 
am  sure,  with  an  honest,  loyal   disposition   and  determina- 


16 

tion  to  do  his  duty  in  every  situation  in  which  he  may  be 
placed,  without  expecting  the  fiery  enthusiasm  which  cries 
"havoc,"  which  fans  and  exasperates  the  strife,  which  is 
noisy,  forward  and  pretentious.  In  one  thus  circumstanc'edj 
Buch  a  zeal  might  justly  excite  a  suspicion  of*  Unsoundness 
cither  in  his  head  or  his  heart. 

The  conviction,  it  lias  been  said,  which  underlie-  this 
service,  and  without  whieh  we  could  scarcely  engage  ill  it 
with  real  honesty,  is  the  conviction  that  righl  is  on  our 
side   in    the   presenl    contest,  and   that   we   enjoy  the   divine 

favor.  This  persuasion  derives  Btrong  supporl  and  confir- 
mation from  observing  tin'  history  of  events  since  the  inau- 
guration of  the  Southern  movement.  Very  marked  and 
wonderful  have  been  the  ordering  and  oVerrulings  of 
Providence,  by  which  the  threatened  isolation  of  South 
Carolina  was  prevented,  and  State  after  State  was  brought 
to  link  their  destinies  with  hers.  Singular,  and  such  cer- 
tainly as  he  did  not  anticipate,  was  the  effect  of  the  removal 
of  Major  Anderson  from  Fort  Moultrie  to  Fort  Sumter; 
singular  was  the  scattering  l>y  storm  of  the  fleet  that  was 
intended  for  the  relief  of  Fort  Sumter,  and  the  detention 
of  the  vessel  that  was  to  essay  the  desperate  passage  up  the 
channel  to  that  beleagurecj  fortress;  alone  among  battles, 
■without  precedent  or  parallel,  was  the  battle  of  Fort  Sum- 
ter, with  its  bloodless  victory ;  unexpected  to  himself  pro- 
bably, as  it  was  to  us,  was  the  result  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  call 
for  seventy-five  thousand  volunteers,  in  pushing  yet  other 
and  reluctant  State's  into  the  Confederate  league.  And 
now  when  it  was  proposed  to  paralyze  and  reduce  to  star- 
vation and  submission  the  "rebellious"  provinces  by  the 
severities  of  a  rigid  blockade,  the  earth  gives  promise  of 
harvests  more  generous  than  she  has  yielded  for  years. 
The  ripening  and  already  garnered  grain  dispels  anxious 
fear,  and  justifies  the  hope  that  want  will  be  a  stranger  to 
our  borders.  England,  whose  sympathies  and  moral  sup- 
port, at  least,  the  North  counted  on  with  entire  confidence, 
shows  strong  signs  of  favor  to  our  de  facto  Government. 
Unquestionably  these  and  many  similar  tokens  of  Provi- 


17 

denee  in  our  behalf,  have  been  signal,  and  are  eminently 
adapted  to  deepen  the  impression  that  God  seconds  onr 
designs  with  the  resistless  fiat  of  His  will.  The  "obedient 
elements"  have  helped  the  Southern  cause;  the  stars  in 
their  courses  have  fought  for  it;  the  winds  and  the  waves 
have  borne  it  onward  ;  the  propitious  heavens  have  shod 
upon  it  their  sweet  and  fertilizing  influences.  AVhile  I 
shrink  from  any  confident  and  dogmatic  interpretation  of 
Providence,  while  we  cannot  read  the  purposes  of  Jehovah 
clearly  until  the  end  is  reached  and  the  result  declared, 
still  it  does  seem  that  all  the  signs  prophesy  distinctly  the 
ultimate  establishment  of  these  Confederate  States  in  a 
condition  of  recognized  independence  and  nationality. 

3.  Besides  happily  directing  our  attention  to  the  true 
end  and  principles  of  the  present  solemnity,  the  fast  of 
Ezra  also  intimates  to  us  the  exercises  that  should  distin- 
guish it.  He  tells  us  that  on  this  occasion  he  and  his 
fellow  colonists  "  afflicted  themselves  before  God."  These 
words  depict,  with  graphic  simplicity,  the  service  and  disci- 
pline appropriate  to  this  day.  It  is  not  a  day  of  thanks- 
giving, though  of  course  grateful  sentiments  and  utterances 
are  not  to  be  suppressed.  It  is  a  day  of  fasting,  devoted 
especially  to  self-examination,  confession  of  sin,  self-chas- 
tisement, and  all  the  spiritual  exercises  which  constitute 
the  signs  and  cultivate  the  temper  of  humiliation  before 
God.  By  rending  our  hearts  rather  than  our  garments,  by 
acknowledging,  bewailing  and  renouncing  our  iniquities, 
let  us  contribute  what  we  may  toward  averting  the  dis- 
pleasure of  God  and  propitiating  His  more  marked  favor. 
Though  final  success  may  come,  it  will  come  with  more  or 
less  of  judgment,  disaster,  and  bitter  dregs  of  sorrow, 
according  to  the  genuineness  and  prevalence  of  religious 
sentiments  among  us.  However  right  we  may  be  in  the 
great  issue  now  made  up  for  conclusive  determination,  no 
properly  instructed  mind  will  think  of  denying  that  our 
sins  are  sufficiently  numerous  and  aggravated  to  justify  the 
apprehension  of  divine  displeasure.  It  is  a  striking  obser- 
vation of  Lamartine  that,  "the  misfortunes  of  a  people  do 


18 

not  always  proceed  from  the  Crimea  of  their  enemies;  they 
arc  more  frequently  the  punishment  of  their  own.'*    Lei  us 
avoid  the  dangerous  temptation  of  dwelling  upon  the  ini- 
quities of  our  foes,  until  we  shall  deny  or  forget  our  own- 
Lei   us  trample  od   the  pride  of  bur  hearts.     Let  us  put 
away  vaporing  and  bravado.     Let  us  guard  against  despis- 
ing the  enemy,  and  indulging  an  treasonable  ©fnfidei  i 
in  our  own  superior  prowess  and  virtue.     The  otter  Bide 
vaunt  their  numbers  and  riches;   lei  us  nol  imitate  their 
follv  by  vaunting  our  valor  and  chivalry.     It   is  good  to 
afflicl   ourselves.     God  hates  pride  and  the  arrogance  of 
self-sufficiency,    but    loves    those   whose    cpntrite    hearts 
"tremble  at  His  word."     lie  shortens   His  arm  and  doses 
His  ear  toward    those    who   exalt   themselves,  but    lifts    up 
those  who  east  themselves  down.     Tlie  punishment  of  the 
flesh*  by  the  denial  of  innocent  appetites,  is  do  farther  ser- 
viceable than  as  it  contributes   to  chasten   the  soul   and 
reduce  it  to  a  frame  of  penitence  and   humility.     It  will  be 
vain  to  Btarve  the  body,  unless  at  the  same  time  the  devils 
are  starved  out  of  the  heart.     And  remember,  my  breth- 
ren,   that    the    aggregate    of   good    accomplished    by    this 
solemnity  will  depend,  not  so  much   upon  the  energy  with 
which  you  recount  and  deplore  what  are  called  ••national 
sins,"    as    upon   the  fidelity   with    which    each    one   of  you 
deals  with  his  own  transgressions,  and  afflicts  his  own  soul. 
Ezra   also  informs   us  that   he    "besought"   God    for  this. 
He   joined    his    companions   in    earnest    supplications    that 
His  good  hand  might  abide  upon  them,  and  direct  them  in 
a  "right  way"  to  Jerusalem.     Doubtless,  there  were  oar- 
nest   wrestlings    in    prayer  that    day   on    the   banks  of    the 
Ahava,    with     strong     cryings    and     flowing     tears.       This 
should  be  a  day  of  much    prayer  with    us — prayer  poured 
forth  in  the  solemn  assembly  and   in  the  privacy  of  retire- 
ment— prayer  in  the  camp  and   in   the   cabinet — prayer  by 
thousands  of  ministers,  crying,  between  the  porch  and  the 
altar,   "Spare  thy  people,  O  Lord,  and  give  not  Thine  her- 
itage  to   reproach,"  and  by   tens   of  thousands  of    respon- 
sive hearts  taking  up  the  petition    and  sending  it  toward 


19 

heaven  with  an  energy  of  desire  and  faith  that  cannot  be 
denied. 

Ezra  closes  his  account  of  the  transactions  of  that  memo- 
rable  day  with  the  precious  record — "and  He  was  entreated 
of  us."  His  special  religious  service  compassed  the  desired 
end;  he  prevailed  with  God  and  obtained  a  right  way. 
May  this  momentous  day.  pregnant  with  the  destinies  of 
distant  generations,  prove  equally  auspicious  in  the  annals 
of  the  Confederacy,  and  issue  in  the  same  grand  result,  "a 
right  way  for  ourselves,  and  for  our  little  ones,  and  for  all 
our  Bubstance." 

There  are  those  whose  sanguine  temperament  and  cheer- 
ful confidence  cause  them  to  see  success  already  grasped, 
and  a  series  of  brilliant  victories  terminating  in  a  speedy 
and  glorious  peace.  I  regret  that  I  am  not  aide  to  share 
these  pleasing  anticipations.  I  would  not  give  a  needless 
pang  or  anxiety  to  any  heart;  I  would  not  be  a  gloomy 
nrophet,  croaking  of. evil  and  disaster;  but  I  deem  it  my 
duty  to  risk  acquiring  such  a  reputation  by  warning  you 
that  it  is  not  wise  to  indulge  these  bright  visions.  lb'  is 
not  the  most  judicious  and  kindest  friend  who,  by  flatter- 
ing our  hopes  and  wishes,  exposes  us  to  the  anguish  of  a 
bitter  disappointment.  A  severe  and  protracted  struggle 
is  proliably  before  us.  destined  to  be  checkered  by  the  vi- 
cissitudes which  are  apt  to  mark  the  fortunes  of  war.  Let 
us  make  up  our  minds  to  this,  and  then  a  sudden  and 
happy  termination  of  the  contest  may  bring  us  disappoint- 
ment, but  it  will  be  a  disappointment  delightful  to  hear. 
But  while  I  deem  it  the  part  of  prudence  to  utter  these 
admonitions  and  cautions,  you  will  join  me.  I  am  sure, 
with  all  the  carncsl ness  of  your  souls,  in  the  prayer  that 
God  may  prove  kinder  to  us  than  our  reasonable  tears  sug- 
gest— that  peace  may  soon  be  proclaimed — that  tranquility 
may  succeed  our  long  disquietude  and  painful  agitations — 
thai  confidence  may  revisit  our  troubled  bosoms — that  the 
bustle  and  din  of  revived  commerce  and  trade  may  till  and 
gladden  our  streets  and  places  of  business — that  spiritual 
prosperity  may  he  vouchsafed  to  our  languishing  churches 


20 


— that  n„r  plaintive-  last-lay  songs  n.av  speedily  swell  and 
bur*  int..  the  anthems  of  thanksgiving,  and  our  spirit  of 
heaviness  a.,-1  exercises  of  humility  Ik-  exchanged  for  the 
festal  garments  and  joyful  service  of  praise!    Amen  and 


amen 


